Blue and Gold Illustrated

March 2013 - Signing Day Edition

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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Upon Further Review todd D. burlage A The Definition Of A Communication Breakdown s a preface, this story isn't about the circumstances, realities, fantasies or inconsistencies of a Manti Te'o fictional "girlfriend" hoax that will forever provide more speculation and opinions than reality. Snippets of clarity eventually dripped out during television interviews with Te'o and Ronaiah Tuiasosopo — the troubled scam creator who endeared himself to Te'o through Lennay Kekua, the fake girlfriend who became a household name and very real to so many. The only things we can all agree on? "The Misadventures of Manti" saga became just as annoying over time as the media's comical coverage of it. As reporters tripped over themselves to put immediacy over accuracy, this story evolved into way more than a "he said, she's dead" tale. This story exposed the problems with sports reporting and journalistic integrity, with the media blindly building up a football hero for five months and then working 24/7 to tear him down. With some help from the folks at Deadspin.com — the Internet outlet that broke the Te'o story — here is a small sample of the shoddy journalism and factual failure that chronicled the Irish linebacker throughout his football season. These conflicting and erroneous reports came from media heavyweights such as ESPN.com and Sports Illus- The revelation that the story of Manti Te'o's girlfriend was a hoax also brought to light some harsh truths about the media's herd mentality. photo by joe raymond trated, as well as from newspapers as far north as The Detroit News all the way south to the Palm Beach Post. • Most sources reported Kekua as being 22 years old when she died. Other outlets said she was 21. And about a dozen print and electronic media outlets also said Kekua was a Stanford student. Some even published she was a volleyball player there.

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